Recovering
by potat lasaro
Summary: Following the events of Team Rocket's attack on Lumiose City. Silver has been watching over Michael's son. Yet, the two don't seem to always get along, but Silver feels responsible for the boy. How have they been since the attack that Michael's life? One-Shot for Champions and Crushes


**Welcome back to another One-Shot everyone! Thank you for the support of the previous one and hopefully we get the same amount for this one!**

 **Sorry for being a day late. Some things came up that prevented me from uploading yesterday. Nothing too bad, just restricted me from getting to my laptop to upload.**

 **Nothing much to say, so I'll see you all at the bottom!**

 **Recovering**

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"No! Don't go, please!" a voice suddenly cried out, Silver was woken by the sudden noise. Groining in frustration, Silver turned in his bed, the bed creaking as he moved. The Pokémon Center he was in was empty, the building barely having any trainers in it due to its location deep in the woods. Looking at the young boy in the opposite bed, Silver sighed as the boy continued to yell out. His body tossed and turned; he was having a nightmare that was sure. Though to Silver, he knew it was _that_ nightmare; the one he too had sometimes. But he would never tell anyone about it.

 _That's the third time this week,_ he thought, sitting up on the edge of his bed. Silver watched on, not sure what to say or do to help, but the boy's Eevee acted first. Rubbing his face against the fear filled boy, Eevee appeared to be calming him down. Slowly, the thrashing halted and the cries for whoever the boy was pleading with concluded; silence was now in the room. Meeting his stare with Eevee, Silver nodded. They both knew that this had to stop, it wasn't healthy for the boy.

"Six months later and he's still having nightmares. I know I promised Michael to watch over Nick, but that was during the attack by Team Rocket. So...so why do I feel compelled to watch over him now? He's a grown boy, traveled multiple regions. So why can't I bring myself to leave him?" Silver whispered out, Nick muttering in his sleep about some battle. The red head payed no attention to the details, he was just fortunate that the nightmare ended. Though, he knew it would be back; if not tonight, then tomorrow. Or even the day after that.

Whatever it was, Nick couldn't bring himself past his father's death. Silver could understand it partially, years passed before Nick saw his father and the moment he did, the man would end up dying shortly after. _Some reunion,_ Silver thought to himself, running a hand through his hair before slipping his shoes on. A breath of fresh air would do him well, or so Silver assumed. Slipping out of their room without waking Nick, Silver made his way out of the Pokémon Center before taking a short walk. Looking around him, Silver noticed just how barren these woods were; no buildings except for this one Pokémon Center and even then, the road to it was unpaved. A small lake was down the hill a little, a few Water-Types splashing around being picked up by Silver's trained ears. Everything seemed so peaceful out on this mountain, the moon shining brightly without any clouds to block out its light.

"I can see why you lived out here before," Silver spoke to no one, kicking a rock down the side of the hill. They still had a while to reach their destination, but Silver felt a sense of responsibility to bring Nick to that spot. It had been a few weeks since Silver saw the note left for Nick; the boy having stuffed it within his backpack, as if hiding the contents from everyone else in the world. Why, Silver wasn't sure, but he could understand why the boy was in no rush to do what the note asked. No young boy would want to head to his father's make shift burial site, one that didn't even have the body there.

Silver had no clue about that note through their first five months together, the older trainer taking Nick under his wing just as the boy's father had done to him. He made sure to train Nick, make him stronger. Then when the note had fallen out of the boy's backpack weeks ago, Silver took it upon himself to guide Nick through it all. Visiting Professor Elm (just as the note stated to do), the two boys found out the location was a burial site of sorts that Michael made years ago. A place Nick could visit whenever he wanted if Michael were to ever perish while on a mission. It was then that the nightmares became more frequent, as if being reminded of his father's death triggered some bad memory...

"Stupid! You should have realized this sooner!" Silver shouted out, startling a group of Hoothoot, the nocturnal birds flying out of the nearby trees, Silver punching one out of frustration. "No wonder his nightmares are more frequent! They _are_ about his father after all. How can I be so stupid? And here I was, ready to leave him in the morning. Not now. Not until I bring him to get his closure, then...then we'll go our separate ways. I'll he finished my promise to Michael, to watch over his son. Tomorrow we'll reach the site, he'll say some words and I'll b off."

Silver nodded in agreement to his words, deciding that would be his plan of action. The boy wasn't fun to hang around with, but where he planned to head next wasn't an area Nick would be able to handle. He still had _his_ father to deal with, the criminal somewhere out there. He heard rumors that Team Rocket were building a new organization in another region, but his sources had yet to figure out which.

"Ha. Most of my sources left me when I quit the G-Men. Only those closest to me get me any information anymore," Silver spat out, making his way back into the Pokémon Center. No one seemed to have awoken from his little outburst. That was good, he didn't need anyone else dragged into this. Opening the door to their room, Silver found Nick sleeping peacefully now, no signs of his previous nightmare at all.

 _Just one more day,_ Silver thought before getting back into his bed. Closing his eyes, the young man felt all the exhaustion his body had been holding collapse onto him. _Then...then I'm free of him and this nagging feeling._

Time seemed to move by quickly for Silver, the sun rising shortly (or what felt like shortly) after he had laid back in bed. Covering his eyes from the sun cracking through the shades, Silver turned slightly, looking at the alarm clock and seeing that it was already seven in the morning. Sighing at the time, Silver finally gave in and got up for the day.

"Today's the day, you ready?" Silver asked his companion, only for no response to come. Instead, silence filled the room; not even Eevee making a sound. Turning towards the other bed, Silver was shocked to see the spot empty, Nick being nowhere in the room. Looking out his window, Silver didn't see the boy outside at all either; the young trainer wasn't sure just where that boy could have been. Throwing on a clean shirt, Silver quickly slid his shoes on before exiting their room and heading back outside (but not before saying good morning to Nurse Joy).

Once outside, the rather stoic trainer looked around for his companion. Nick couldn't have wandered off too far, there wasn't anywhere to go to; the only nearby area was their destination, and even then, it would take them at least an hour to reach there. Sighing, Silver ran a hand through his messy hair, his Pokégear beginning to vibrate but choosing to ignore it. Whoever it was could just leave a message. Right now he had to find Nick.

Making his way over near the edge of the hill, Silver looked down towards the lake, the water peaceful. No one appeared to be swimming in it besides the Water-Types who lived in it, causing Silver to cross that location off of his places to search. Hearing a rustling sound coming from the woods, the trainer took off in a hurry. _Don't tell me he tried to leave without me. If something happened to him before I finished my promise..._ Silver muttered, jumping over a fallen tree branch as a skirmish could be heard ahead. Looking up, Silver watched for a moment as golden stars smashed against each other, a gust of wind kicking outwards as dirt and leaves flew around the area. Eevee's voice could be heard, a glowing bit of silver being seen cutting through the dust in two directions.

"Something's going down over there and whatever it is, it probably isn't good," Silver grunted out, covering his face as another blast of wind came his way. Pushing forward, the young trainer could hear several more commands, a second voice now speaking back to Nick's, Silver unable to make out just _what_ was being said. Instead, he could see bits of the battle, Eevee firing off a Shadow Ball against what seemed like a Thunderbolt. Though, Silver couldn't see the opponent at all; he couldn't help but wonder just _who_ they were fighting. Jumping over a downed log, Silver could now make out the battle that was taking place before him, a young girl (one who couldn't be older than Nick) standing across from the grieving child as Eevee fought against an Aipom. The seemed evenly matched, Silver deciding to watch just how this would go down.

"You ain't half bad," the girl stated, flinging her blonde hair from in front of her body, the golden locks almost the length of her entire back. Silver wasn't sure just what she had in store, but based on how tense Nick was, he had a feeling it wouldn't end good. He soon found out just how right he was, the girl calling for Aipom to restrain Eevee.

The Normal-Type moved with ease across the trees; his tail allowing him far superior mobility across the forest terrain than Eevee. Within seconds, Aipom had Eevee pinned up against a tree, the Evolution Pokémon crying out for help as Nick only watched on in shock. Silver wanted to yell at the boy, to tell him to do something, but he didn't want to interrupt unless necessary: this was Nick's battle.

"W-What do...what do you want with me?" Nick stuttered out, the young girl moving out across the opening. Silver noted at how torn up her clothes were; almost as if she had been living out in the woods for the past few months herself. A mask covered her face, making it impossible to see anything distinct about her. "I don't even know who you are, and now you're attacking me. I don't want any problems."

"Oh, don't worry," she stated happily, placing her arms behind her back for a moment, a mask hiding her true facial expressions from both Nick and Silver. "A friend of mine is interested in you, that's all. Nothing too important, or at least I think it isn't that important. He said he wanted to talk to you, and then asked me to find you since I know these woods so well."

 _How would anyone know we're up on Mt. Silver!?_ Silver thought to himself, eyes widening as the girl lunged forward towards Nick, pushing the two of them up against a tree. Nick couldn't move, his body pinned between that of the tree and the girl in front of him.

"I don't know _what_ makes you so special to my friend, but he really wants to meet you. Though, I'm glad I've come looking for you; it was a lot of fun battling you, even if you're way weaker than I expected. Aipom really enjoyed the battle, didn't you Aipom," she stated, letting out a light giggle as Nick struggled to break free. The Normal-Type cried out in agreement, Silver sighing at the pathetic sight before him. "We're not that different though. We both like the woods, are alone and our partners are super cool. We should hang out after."

Stepping forward, the red-haired trainer made himself visible to the two younger trainers. The young girl immediately looking shocked, Silver realizing that she had probably thought he was by himself out here. Her body however seemed to grow hostile, as if she felt lied to over something. Silver payed it no attention after that, instead clearing his throat as he glared down the girl. "Can I help you? It seems like you and your Aipom are treating my friend here rather roughly."

"Huh?" the girl asked, noticing just how she was holding Nick against the tree. Releasing his wrists from her grasp and moving backwards, she rubbed at the back of her head, her hair flying wildly as a few strands hit Nick. "Sorry 'bout that. I guess with how I've been raised...I sort of act on impulse and not how I should. People say I need to relax, but I act on instinct too much. You know what I mean?"

"Not really," Silver stated, gripping at his Poké Ball. Staring down the strange girl, he wondered where in the world she had been, her blonde hair had mud and twigs in it and her clothes were ripped. Though, Silver hadn't noticed the severity of it all from his earlier look. What seemed to be a jacket was missing its sleeves and lower half, exposing a tanned stomach and arms. Meanwhile, her shoes had holes right through the front of them, revealing her toes sticking out through torn stockings.

"So, are you going to say why you're here? Or will I have to beat it out of you?"

The girl shook her head, taking a few more steps back from Nick. Aipom ran away from Eevee, wrapping its tail around the girl's arm before swinging freely on it. "Not really. I wish I could explain, but all I know is my friend wants to speak with Nick overhear. He didn't say anything else than that, well, he also said some big jerk would probably try to stop me; so I guess that part was true.

"Why don't you come back with me to? I'm sure my friend would like to talk with you. He said something about wanting to learn more about Michael, whoever that guy is. All I know is, his exact words were 'now that Michael is dead, go find this boy, his name's Nick. He'll be a great addition' before sending me to this area," she explained, jumping up onto a tree branch. She hung there carelessly, making it seem like she had experience for acrobatics as she swung from tree to tree.

"But, I'm not going to force him to go. My friend said Nick was lonely and needed help since you kidnapped him. But I don't see him as needing help. Not now at least. So I'll leave him in your hands for now; but if you hurt him, just know I'll hunt you down," she stated happily, giggling at the end of her sentence before swinging deeper into the forest.

"Hey! I wasn't finished asking you my questions!" Silver shouted, fists raised before his body as they shook in anger. Whoever she was, he knew that her "friend" wasn't someone they wanted to mess with. Not now at least. Especially since if he knew where they were, what else could this person know about them. Silver thought about chasing her down. He thought about interrogating her. But in reality, he knew that his chances of catching her were slim and that it was best to keep an eye on Nick. Though his latest question made him worry for the boy's safety. _Why are people after him? And what did they want him to join?_

"I...Is she...is she gone?" Nick asked, dusting himself off for a moment while Eevee ran to his side. Picking up the Normal-Type, Nick inspected his partner for any injuries, sighing in relief to the fact Eevee was just fine. Silver however was less than pleased at how Nick handled the entire situation. To think he was beaten easily by that girl. He had barely put up a fight from what Silver saw!

"I don't know...what...what I would have done if...if you hadn't shown up," Nick finished saying, his body growing tense just from the glare Silver was giving him.

Sighing, Silver rolled his shoulders to try and relax, but it wasn't helping. Seeing the young boy nearly be kidnapped (or whatever you wanted to call the situation. He figured that maybe abducted was a better word to use) despite having been trained for the past few months. Opening his mouth, Silver let all his rising frustration from their months together pour from his body.

"How could you let her beat you so easily!? I thought you've been trained better than this! To think someone like could beat you like that and all you can say is 'is she gone' like a sniveling baby just shows what kind of a trainer you are! To think that I've been stuck babysitting you since we left Lumiose City!"

Silver paused a moment to breath, hearing a slight sniveling sound coming from Nick. Looking at the boy in frustration, Silver could see him wiping at his eyes, face now stained with tears rolling down his cheeks. Silver shook his head, the tears only annoying him more. Grabbing ahold of Nick by the back of his bad, Silver began to drag the crying boy off into the direction of their destination. "Come on, the sooner we get to our location, the sooner I can leave and get on with my life."

The hike through the woods remained silent outside of an occasional sniffle or sob from Nick, the boy's crying only building the frustration within Silver. Doing his best to remain calm, Silver pulled out his Pokégear and opened his messages.

 _So, this is what they sent me,_ Silver thought to himself, wanting to open the message but deciding against it for the time being. As it was, he still needed to return to the Pokémon Center to retrieve his bag and check out of the room. He would just look at it then. Stuffing the device back into his pocket, Silver pulled out the letter and checked the directions to make sure they were on the right path still. Seeing as they were, Silver picked up the pace, wanting to get this whole ordeal over with.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I...I didn't...I didn't expect to drag anyone down with me," Nick explained, blowing his nose into one of his sleeves, Silver ignoring him for the time being as they crossed a small stream. "You see...after I learned about my dad...I had no one. And...and then you...you offered to help me. It made me...made me a little happy... To know I wouldn't be alone anymore."

"Huh?" Silver asked, turning around a moment before seeing a small smile on Nick's face. It was the first time he ever truly saw the boy smile since they left Lumiose City. "You've got to have _some_ family or friends. I don't believe that you've been alone this entire time."

Nick nodded to say that was the case before wiping his nose once more. Silver was pleased that the tears finally stopped, but he wished Nick would just use a tissue instead of his sleeve. "I...I don't remember much of my mom. Dad says she 'went home to rest' when I was young. And my grandmother...she got...she got tired too. A few years before...before I started my journey. They...they were the only other ones who lived up on this mountain with me...or rather...in the area we stayed. It was a walk...a walk to get anywhere. So we...we never traveled much except for when...when it was necessary. So because of that...I never made any friends.

"And then...then dad left...left me with Elm. He's nice...but not someone you could talk or play with... So...yeah. I have no one," Nick finished up, Silver shocked at what was being told. Michael had explained that Nick had a hard life growing up, but he still had thought that the boy had _some_ friends outside of his family. To hear this, Silver began to feel awful for his earlier outburst. The boy was going through something he had no idea how to comprehend.

"There's...there's the area..." Nick sniffled out, walking past Silver and into a small opening. Silver followed right behind him as they came to see three small memorials. Nick made his way up to them, getting down onto his knees and just sitting there in silence. Silver could see a few tears dropping onto the ground, but said nothing. Instead, he was still too shocked over what had just been said to him. This boy, he had spent the majority of his life alone. And yet, he kept most of his sadness bottled inside of him until now. No wonder he didn't battle to his fullest back there.

 _Michael, I didn't realize that this was what you meant by wanting me to keep him safe,_ Silver thought, eyes resting on the small memorial for his former partner. Pulling out his Pokégear, Silver decided to check the message while Nick said what he needed to. Skimming through the message, Silver found just what he was looking for: a location.

Now that he knew where he needed to head off to, it was only natural for him to want to get ready. Though, he couldn't pull Nick away from this area. Not now. Not after everything else that happened to this boy. He needed this.

"You know," Silver finally spoke up, causing Nick to look back at the older boy. Silver made his way over to the memorials, kneeling right next to Nick as they turned to look at Michael's memorial. "Michael...er your father, always talked highly of you. He was always saying about how well you did as a trainer, growing stronger and stronger while making so many friends. He honestly was proud of you."

Nick stayed silent while Silver continued on about different tales of his father and how he watched every League match live, even recording them so he could go back and watch his son. Even if he couldn't be there in person, Michael had wanted to say he supported Nick through everything. He loved his son up to the moment he passed, Silver admitting that at times Michael had told him how he was thinking of retiring soon. To return home permanently to help train Nick into an excellent young trainer.

"That's why...to make sure Michael's wish comes true, I'm going to stay by your side until that day comes," Silver stated, Nick looking on in surprise as Silver bowed towards Michael's memorial. "I'm sorry you're not here to do this yourself! But I want to see your dream fulfilled after everything you sacrificed for this world. I know Nick has the potential, he just needs the right training. And he can't do that on his own! So from here on, I'll train him. I'll make him into the world's strongest trainer!

"Nick, you better be ready, because you're stuck with me for a while," Silver stated, standing back up from his kneeling position. Nick remained silent, Silver realizing what he just said must have been a lot to take in at once.

"Well, will you let me stay by your side? But I'm warning you, I'll be training you just as I was trained. And it won't be easy, but when you're finished, no one will beat you."

Nick stood up, dusting himself off once more before wiping the tears from his eyes. Silver sighed at how easily Nick cried lately, but chose to not say anything about it. "B-But...I'll only...I'll only slow you down," Nick responded, Eevee rubbing his face against Nick's cheek. "You've got to get going and do whatever it is you have planned."

"Well I can't do it alone," Silver responded, pulling out his Pokégear and pointing it at Nick so that he could see the original message. "The people who killed your dad, they've been spotted in Unova doing something. I honestly don't trust the G-Men or the International Police to handle this well. So I'm heading there to check this out, but I can't do it alone.

So, do you want to help me get revenge on the people who attacked Lumiose City and killed your dad?" Silver stood there patiently, Nick reading the message over a few times before slowly nodding in agreement. Silver smirked at the answer, knowing that Michael probably wasn't happy that Nick would be getting dragged into something related with Team Rocket, but Silver didn't care. He knew that he couldn't take an entire organization on himself. Even with Nick they were outmatched, but at least now they would stand a better chance. Besides, Silver knew most of the organization had disbanded by now. So maybe they did have a chance.

"Good," Silver stated, putting his device away. "Starting today we're going to go through so much training you'll wish you never agreed to joining me. When you're finished here, we'll head back to the Pokémon Center so that I can grab my stuff. Then it'll be off to Unova to start your training and prepare for our ambush on Team Rocket. But before all that, you're getting a haircut and new glasses."

"Why?" Nick asked, taking his broken glasses off and looking at them. Silver just sighed. Only Nick would think that a pair of broken glasses were fine. "I can still see with them, and my hair isn't that bad. Is it?"

"Those glasses are ready to fall apart. I don't know how much tape you've used to keep them together. And your hair is disgusting. I can't tell the last time you washed it yet alone got it cut. I'm sure Michael would be disappointed to see you in this condition. So, are you ready to start?"

"Y-Yes!" Nick shouted out, his voice causing a flock of Pidgey to be startled, the group of Flying and Normal-Types soaring off into the distance towards their next destination.

Silver watched as they flew off, just as they were heading for a new destination, so were Nick and Silver. The duo turning back for the Pokémon Center in silence. Silver knowing that Nick would one day walk in his father's footsteps, and he was going to get him there.

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 **And here it ends. Yep, Nick and Silver are heading off to Unova to track the last remaining members of Team Rocket. Why? Well, it'll be revealed next week and in what's to come. I can't say much without spoiling what's to come next. As for** _ **why**_ **this centered around Nick and Silver? Well, when we last saw them, Nick was depressed to the point he didn't say much when leaving with Silver. So I couldn't not explain what's been happening to them between the end of the original and start of the sequel.**

 **Hopefully you all enjoyed! Thank you to everyone who read and supported this one-shot! Please leave a review letting me know what you enjoyed and where I could improve! Thank you and see you all next week!**


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